Gallery 125 will present the paintings of abstract artist Daniel O’Keefe in a solo exhibition on view from June 20 through July 14. Dubbed a horizontalist, this native Long Island artist creates abstract paintings by mixing pigments with Venetian plaster and then methodically scraping away layers to reveal an expressive abstraction.
O’Keefe cherishes the perspective, the focus on things from above. From memories of the views from his family’s top floor apartment, to working today on scaffolding or piloting planes, O’Keefe finds parallels in his art.
“Creating art on a horizontal surface is reminiscent of when I played with marbles and looked down on those colorful orbs dotting the earth’s terrain,” O’Keefe said.
O’Keefe’s life as an artist was shaped as a young boy. His sister drowned in a boating accident and he found expression for his grief in painting. But he did not find his vision as an abstract artist until well into adulthood – after finally putting behind him a troubled childhood, alcoholism, drug abuse, and time in a psychiatric facility.
Although O’Keefe embodies Duchamp’s dictum that the hardware store is the only art supply shop an artist needs, his works are not Dada but full-blown abstractions in the grand tradition.
According to painter and art critic John Perreault, “Somewhere between the insouciant paint application of Jasper Johns and the passion of Cezanne, the upfront tactility of O’Keefe’s art is fresh. His use of pigmented Venetian plaster and his denial of both the easel and the paintbrush proves you can make serious art outside the hegemony of the art supplies industry.”
O’Keefe most recently exhibited in the group show, “Going Horizontal: Turning Painting on its Side” at the Studio Vendome Gallery in New York City, curated by Gallery 125 executive director Thomas Schultz.
Located at 125 South Country Road in Bellport, Long Island, Gallery 125 hours are: Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays 10:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; and Sundays 10:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Gallery 125 will host an Opening Reception – public welcome – on Saturday, June 29 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
For more information, call Gallery 125 at 631-880-2693 or e-mail: gallery125@optimum.net.
